Photo by Samer Farha

Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) announced today she will lead a hearing later this month on a new bill containing an overhaul of the District’s taxicab regulations. The bill, which has raised some complaints from drivers of Washington’s fleet of some 8,500 cabs, would—if passed in its current form—institute a bevy of changes to the appearances and fare structures.

Cheh, who chairs the D.C. Council’s Environment, Public Works and Transportation Committee, also said she will announce at the January 30 hearing the results of a recent survey about the city’s livery services her office is conducting.

Among the reforms in the bill would be the mandatory installation of credit card readers and GPS devices, new requirements that cabs be hybrid or low-emissions vehicles and the application of a uniform paint job on every taxi in the fleet.

Meanwhile, a separate proposal by the D.C. Taxicab Commission would impose sweeping changes to the current fare scheme that would drop the current surcharges for fuel and other items, but raise per-mile charges from $1.50 to $2.16 and increase the cost for idling. Cabbies have taken a position against this proposal, too, with the leaders of drivers’ organizations saying the new fares would mean less revenue for an occupation with high overhead.